20/06/2026
Rishi and Rādhe are the instructors for all of our 75 minute hatha yoga classes:
ABOUT RISHI
Rishi continues to teach most of our classes in 2026. He is much appreciated by his current regular students as a dedicated yoga instructor – offering yoga of a high quality – possessing insight and gentleness beyond his years.
Rishi has a BMus(Hons), specializing in classical singing. Having grown up in a yogic environment, he decided to also do yoga teacher training, attending a series of week long sessions, with follow up study and practice required after each one, to obtain a RYT 200 qualification from Prema-Heart Yoga School at Ritual Yoga on Waiheke Island, Hauraki Gulf in 2022. He intends to add a 300-hour qualification here too.
Rishi had also attended classes with yoga teachers when studying at Waikato University. Over the past 10 years, he has worked with Swami Ānandarādhā Saraswati (Rādhe) in the Northland classes and workshops, teaching all of the 6 classes run per week by Shraddha Yoga and Meditation in 2024 and most of 2025's ones, which had increased to 7 in total.
Having a father who is Brahmin, from India, Rishi may have have also inherited an ability with pronunciation of Sanskrit, probably also helped by becoming proficient singing in other languages. However, he has a particular interest in Sanskrit mantra and kirtan. He likes to open and close each session by chanting 3 Oms (A-U-M), the universal mantra, out loud.
ABOUT RĀDHE
Rādhe is a secondary school teacher and has been a yoga instructor for more than 40 years, running yoga centres in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty during that time. She has a gentle, insightful approach, teaching with warmth and humour.
Rādhe enjoys offering workshops and masterclasses including deeper practices – with more pranayama, yoga nidra and meditation – as well as the asana (physical poses). She has taught pre-natal yoga workshops and classes and is open to doing private or small group sessions in this – or any other – specialized yoga area.
Rādhe has a long association with Satyananda Yoga and Ashram Yoga, which have had the biggest influence on her teaching. She also has some in-depth experience in Iyengar Yoga, attending 2-hour classes twice a week with Nicky Knoff – and also classes and workshops with other teachers such as visiting Iyengar teacher, Martyn Jackson – at the Rec Centre when studying at Auckland University; she also attended classes with Mike Byron and several of his teachers after he set up the first Iyengar studios in NZ. She has been a student in classes and courses with other schools of yoga over the years too, including at Yoganandham in Rishikesh, India in January, 2019.
Currently she only teaches 2 of the 75 minute classes (Kara Kokopu and Tamaterau).
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Anandaradha Radhe Rishi Iyer
Whangarei City YOGA
Shraddha Yoga and Meditation 🧘🕉🧡🙏
